GLORY Rays: Evan Longoria (left) is mobbed at home after his 12th-inning home run put Tampa Bay into the playoffs.REUTERS

GLORY Rays: Evan Longoria (left) is mobbed at home after his 12th-inning home run put Tampa Bay into the playoffs. (REUTERS)

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Champagne was never sweeter. The Rays never will forget this night. Baseball never will. This is what the game is all about.

There is a heartbeat to baseball, and the Rays proved it last night with a tumultuous, 8-7, 12-inning win over the Yankees that catapulted them into the postseason on the season’s final night. The winning run came at 12:06 in the morning on an Evan Longoria home run off Scott Proctor, a lined shot over the 315-sign in left field.

This was a game the Rays trailed 7-0 into the eighth inning. Call it the greatest comeback in so many ways.

As the party went into overdrive in the Rays clubhouse, Longoria was asked what went through his mind as he rounded the bases on his game-winning, wild-card-clinching home run that sent 29,518 fans into ecstasy.

Longoria smiled and said, “I’m just thinking about, ‘Wow, did this just really happen?’ “

Yes it did. This was the Shot Heard ‘Round Tampa Bay.

This was the shot that put the Red Sox out of the playoffs. David had taken care of Goliath. The Rays and their $47 million payroll had beaten the Red Sox to win the wild card. The Rays were nine back on Sept. 4, but they came back with the heart of champions.

This marked the most games overcome in September to get to the postseason in major league history. The Rays went 16-8 while Boston went 6-18. Now the Rays travel to Texas to play the Rangers in the ALDS.

“The Rays mix the old school with the new school as good as it’s ever done,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I believe in numbers, but I also believe in a heartbeat. This game has a heartbeat.”

And the Rays showed it last night. Longoria hit a three-run shot in the eighth to get the Rays back in the game. Then with two outs in the ninth inning, Dan Johnson’s solo home run tied the game and sent it into extra innings. His only other home run in the majors this year came on April 8.

At 11:59, the Orioles tied the Red Sox in Boston. At 12:02 the Orioles beat the Red Sox when ex-Ray Carl Crawford couldn’t make a catch. The crowd erupted. While all this was going on Longoria had to keep his composure.

“I knew the Orioles had tied the game and then everybody cheered so I knew the Orioles had won,” Longoria said. “Then it seemed like a matter of getting back into that at-bat and refocusing.”

How did he do that?

“I really don’t know,” Longoria said. “Just step out of the box and take a deep breath and try to remember what we were playing for. I was just thinking about getting on base. It was a good feeling that that home run put us into the playoffs and not a playoff game.”

When Longoria was at the plate he had to step out with all the cheering. He composed himself and managed to hit the home run exactly four minutes after the Red Sox trudged off the field.

“It was a crazy night,” Maddon said. He also said that Proctor “pitched hurt and pitched great for the Yankees tonight.”

Maddon had no problem with how Joe Girardi managed the game, saving his best relievers.

“I would have done the same thing,” Maddon said. “To the victor go the spoils.”

Johnny Damon, the ex-Yankee, the ex-Red Sox, who won World Series with both teams said it best, “You just can’t write this.

“Being down by seven going into the eighth. What an amazing accomplishment our guys did. Everybody pitched in, everybody stayed together in the tough times. You know what, I’m from Central Florida. This means so much to me. I’m always going to cherish this night.”

So will baseball. This was a game and night for the ages. Champagne was never sweeter.